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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831487">“Why are you so, like, attractively hot?”</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/snacc_noir/pseuds/snacc_noir'>snacc_noir</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Prompt me cowards: Tumblr Ficlets [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien your chat is showing, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Marinate keep your mouth sHUt, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, flustered marinette</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:35:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831487</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/snacc_noir/pseuds/snacc_noir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Fake dating.</p>
<p>Makes sense, good cover for emergency ditches during akumas. It's a good idea on her partner's behalf. Besides, how hard is flirting with her biggest crush in public anyway?</p>
<p>“Why are you so, like, attractively hot?”</p>
<p>Turns out, quite difficult.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Prompt me cowards: Tumblr Ficlets [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1738810</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>256</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>“Why are you so, like, attractively hot?”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>spartanxhunterx:</p>
<p>9. “Why are you so, like, attractively hot?”<br/>h. Fake dating AU</p>
<p>- Adrienette (post reveal)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adrien. Boyfriend. Press.</p>
<p><em>Panic</em>.</p>
<p>Even her class are victims to the fraud. A mirage of magazines has her face at the front and at the front of her face is Adrien smiling, and although that sounds unimposing, Adrien Agreste’s heart-eyes-smile may as well be a superpower.</p>
<p>They’re in public. On a date.</p>
<p>They’re in public and public means flirting, shoulder brushing, crinkles in the eyes, the whole “we’re in love but not in the overbearing way” thing - just enough for off-guard glances and, oh, those two must be an item.</p>
<p>Oh yeah. Did she mention she’s not <em>actually</em> dating him?</p>
<p>Marinette is suave. Marinette is incredibly capable and creative and you know, speaking is <em>quite easy</em> for someone who’s done it for <em>quite</em> some time so, how hard is ‘flirting’ in public anyway?</p>
<p>“Why are you so, like, attractively hot?”</p>
<p>Quite difficult.</p>
<p>That surely fabricated smile of his droops with… well there’s probably a <em>few</em> reactions he has after <em>that</em> comes out of her mouth. Obviously, her head and lips don’t have the best connection, as she’s pretty sure, “How are you so amazing?” or <em>something</em> of the rather (<em>something</em> else, particularly) was supposed to slide smoothly. She’ll schedule couple therapy after her mind’s stopped the whirlwind of panic,</p>
<p>Because what was <em>that</em>?</p>
<p>See, there’s this ‘secret identity’ thing that kind of, uh, didn’t work out in the end.</p>
<p>So now Ladybug and Chat Noir know the others’ identity.</p>
<p>Who are completely head-over-heels in love.</p>
<p>Both thinking it’s one sided.</p>
<p>Fun!</p>
<p>And in this whole fiasco of revelations, Sir Adrien Genius Agreste decided for ‘cover’, they’ll pose as girlfriend and boyfriend to excuse the time they’re together! Walking home totally <em>not</em> discussing their next patrol? Calling non-stop? Fencing together? Both arriving to class late? Haha, dating things! No longing for actual dating at all! No, no, Marinette’s professional and a splendidly coherent actress and—</p>
<p>“Uh… did you say attract–attractively hot?”</p>
<p>Fine. Yeah. That’s fair.</p>
<p>Adrien’s bemused whisper stokes the heat in her cheeks as she envies the little girl’s drink nearby that after a spill begins to melt into the floor. The café suddenly doesn’t have enough white noise and– yep, there’s Alya at a table afar, head perked and staring directly at her. Great. Lovely. Great, yes.</p>
<p>“I—” she squeaks, debating the physics if there even <em>is</em> a possible way to melt into the floor and never look at those horribly soft and gentle green eyes again, “I— I mean, uh, <em>babe</em>, you never told me your work-out routine!”</p>
<p>Nailed it.</p>
<p>(Psh. Yeah right.)</p>
<p>A hand presses atop hers. In what’s almost a breath, Adrien says, his grin fierce (he can pretend to be gentlemanly all he wants with his voice, but she knows by that smirk (and by <em>whose</em> *cough* Chat Noir) that he’s trying very hard not to laugh at her), “We don’t have to put on a scene now, if you don’t want.”</p>
<p>Excuse him, but she’ll put on every fake-romantic and overbearingly awkward scene she could possible! Thank you very much.</p>
<p>“You seem a bit tongue-tied.”</p>
<p>Marinette snatches her napkin and dabs invisible crumbs from her mouth. “It’s the tea.”</p>
<p>“You had a hot chocolate.”</p>
<p>She’s very proud of the self-restraint she uses to not ball her napkin at him.</p>
<p>“I’m just not used—” Marinette starts, but realises any reporter could be close enough and lowers her tone, “—I haven’t been on a ‘date’ before, and especially not a pretend one. That’s hard enough without Nino and Alya a few tables down <em>knowing</em> we’re supposed to be, you– you know, doing date stuff.”</p>
<p>“Yes, like calling each other attractive quite loudly.”</p>
<p>That time, she does throw it, but it seems explainable enough.</p>
<p>Adrien laughs. “Fine! Fine! Slip of the tongue, I’ve heard worse from you.”</p>
<p>“Shut up,” she says into the table her head’s pressed against.</p>
<p>He shuffles. “Do you want to go?”</p>
<p>“Any longer we stay, and Alya will be interrogating how real we actually are after hearing <em>that</em>.”</p>
<p>Smiling (oh <em>come on</em>, she’s trying to be <em>mad</em> at him right now), Adrien slides off his stool, taking her hand and helping her shorter stature down. Out of nowhere, there beside the table, her fake boyfriend but very much real crush leans to speak softly in her ear,</p>
<p>“I’m sure she’s not surprised, but to ease you nerves…” he pulls away, or more hovers, because the distance he makes barely changes the effect to her heart rate. His face is in front of hers again, closer, much, much closer, and his grin asks the unspoken question her pulse picks up on immediately.</p>
<p>Oh. Cool. Great. They’re- he’s- Adrien’s doing this now, is he?</p>
<p>She nods, almost combusting, and taking the cue Adrien tilts just a little to fit the shape of his lips into hers. A soft, slow and romantic kiss of true lovers; one that won’t leave her head for weeks and will likely leave her a drunken mess walking out the café. She doesn’t want the magic to end, but they eventually break apart.</p>
<p>“Did you mean it?”</p>
<p>Slightly dazed, she furrows her brow.</p>
<p>“The question, I mean? Did you—” Adrien licks his lips. “—Did you mean it?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>Uh, wow.</p>
<p>Wow, okay. She was meant to deny that.</p>
<p>Funny what kissing does to one’s brain.</p>
<p>Adrien grips her hand firmly, almost as if he’s keeping in the sudden thrill that answer gave him.</p>
<p>“Thought so.”</p>
<p>Smiling, smiling <em>so wide,</em> they head out the shop, blissful, giddy,</p>
<p>and liars.</p>
<p>And the only ones they’re fooling are themselves.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="https://snacc-noir.tumblr.com/"> tumblr</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
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